Departmental Computers

Mark Hoban: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how many laptop computers have been provided to  (a) her,  (b) her special advisers and  (c) civil servants in the Government Olympics Executive in each year since 2005; and at what cost.

Tessa Jowell: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office, (Tom Watson) on 21 April 2009,  Official Report, columns 549-50W.
	Figures for the Government Olympic Executive were included in the reply given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Sport on 2 April 2009,  Official Report, column 1377W.

Government Olympic Executive: Operating Costs

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what the operational costs of the Government Olympic Centre have been in each year since 2005.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 15 May 2009
	The Government Olympic Executive (GOE) is responsible for overseeing the successful delivery of the entire London 2012 Games Programme, integrating the work of multiple delivery bodies, safeguarding and maximising the value of the Government's investment ensuring the Games is delivered within the £9.3 billion public sector funding provision, and maximising the benefits of the Games for the whole of the UK.
	The expenditure of the GOE, part of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and its predecessor, the Olympic Games Unit, for the completed financial years since 2004-05 are as follows:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2004-05 0.6 
			 2005-06 1.4 
			 2006-07 3.1 
			 2007-08 5.4 
			 2008-09 (provisional outturn) 7.9 
		
	
	This increase in expenditure over the period:
	(a) reflects the increased role that the GOE has taken on during this period;
	(b) is a planned response to the expected growth in work to deliver the Government's commitments and guarantees, to spread the benefits of the Games across the UK as 2012 approaches; and
	(c) is consistent with GOE's staffing and resource plan for 2008-09 to 2010-11, agreed in early 2008.

Departmental Pay

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agency paid in end-of-year performance bonuses to (i) all staff and (ii) senior Civil Service staff in 2008-09; and how many such payments were made.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information is as follows:
	 Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)
	Total pay bill was £24,534,890, of which 2.37 per cent. was used for non-consolidated in year and year end performance payments. These non-consolidated payments were paid to staff in the year 2008-09 for the performance year 2007-08. For the senior civil service (SCS), the size of the non-consolidated performance pay pot is based on recommendations by the independent senior salaries review body.
	
		
			  2008-09  All staff  Senior civil service (SCS) staff 
			 Number of year end non-consolidated performance payments 221 25 
			 Median (£) 1,200 7,000 
			 Total cost (£) 499,647 254,750 
			  Note: The permanent secretary also received a non-consolidated performance payment in 2008. 
		
	
	 Royal Parks
	Total pay bill was £4,458,312, of which 0.75 per cent. was used for non-consolidated in year and year end performance payments. These non-consolidated payments were paid to staff in the year 2008-09 for the performance year 2007-08.
	
		
			  2008-09  All staff  Senior civil service (SCS) staff 
			 Number of year end non-consolidated performance payments 19 (1)— 
			 Median (£) 510 (1)— 
			 Total cost (£) 25,160 (1)— 
			 (1) This information is not available due to the small number of SCS staff involved (less than five). 
		
	
	The Department for Culture, Media and Sport and its agency the Royal Parks make non consolidated payments to its staff to reward highly successful performance over a whole year (e.g. targets exceeded). All non-consolidated payments are funded within existing pay controls, have to be re-earned each year against pre-determined targets and as such do not add to future pay bill costs. This year the Government have responded positively to current economic conditions by freezing the size of the SCS 'pot's set aside for non-consolidated payments.

Swimming

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the expected contribution of swimming to Olympics legacy targets for participation in sports.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Sport England has commissioned the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) to deliver outcomes against Grow, Sustain and Excel. The ASA has been offered an award of £20,875,000 over the period 2009 to 2013 to drive these outcomes. Sport England are awaiting acceptance of this offer.
	The ASA award agreement specifies that the ASA will grow the sport by 270,000 additional participants swimming for 30 minutes once a week (increasing the total of one x 30 16+ swimmers to 3,514,400) by 2012-13. It should be noted that Sport England's overall grow target is to get 1 million more people playing sport for 30 minutes three times a week by 2012-13. Recognising that most people who achieve three x 30 minutes per week do so through a combination of different sports, the individual National Governing Bodies have therefore been given goals expressed in terms of one x 30 minutes per week that will aggregate together.
	In addition, the ASA award agreement sets out that the ASA will increase the total number of Young People (five to 19) participating in swimming clubs from 136,327 to 159,483 by 2012-13. These figures for young people refer to the number of young people participating in swimming clubs, not the number of young people participating in swimming more generally.

VisitEngland: Finance

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much Visit England has budgeted to spend on administration costs in 2009-10.

Barbara Follett: VisitBritain have confirmed that the total VisitEngland grant in aid budget for 2009-10, including VisitEngland's proportion of shared costs with VisitBritain, is £11,724,000.
	Of that budget VisitEngland has allocated £2,874,000 to administration and property costs.

Industrial Health and Safety

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department spent on compliance with requirements of health and safety at work legislation in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Ann McKechin: Information is not available in the form requested. Details on the cost of compliance with requirements of health and safety at work legislation is not recorded in a way that such information could be disaggregated.

Departmental Reviews

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many  (a) review and  (b) taskforce projects his Department has commissioned in each of the last five years; what the purpose of each such project is; when each such project (i) began and (ii) was completed; what the cost of each such project was; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Murphy: Wales Office has adopted a project management approach to various tasks, such as implementation of the Government of Wales Act 2006, but not commissioned any external reviews or taskforces.

Railways: Finance

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of the cost of running the rail network was met from passenger revenue in  (a) 1997 and  (b) 2003; and what proportion he estimates will be so met in (i) 2009 and (ii) 2013.

Paul Clark: Details of historic passenger revenue and Government support are set out in National Rail Trends which is published by the Office of Rail Regulation.
	An estimate of passenger revenue alongside planned Government support for the railway up until 2013-14 is set out in the White Paper, Delivering a Sustainable Railway which was published in July 2007. Copies of both documents are available in the Libraries of the House.

Roads: Accidents

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 8 May 2009,  Official Report, columns 488-89, on roads: accidents, how many of the drivers of  (a) heavy goods vehicles,  (b) light goods vehicles and  (c) cars referred to in the Table had (i) foreign and (ii) UK driving licences in (A) 2003, (B) 2004, (C) 2005, (D) 2006 and (E) 2007.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I refer my right hon. Friend to my answer of 18 May 2009,  Official Report, columns 1129-30W.

Transport: Exhaust Emissions

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will assess the merits of a carbon reduction fund relating to transport.

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the merits of the establishment of a carbon reduction fund for transport.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport is currently looking very closely at the best ways of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transport and have received representations from a number of groups advocating a Carbon Reduction Fund.
	When making decisions about transport expenditure we aim to do so in a way that delivers across all of our goals as set out in the 'Delivering as Sustainable Transport System' consultation. In this context we will set out our policies and proposals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transport as part of our Carbon Reduction Strategy in the summer.

Departmental Buildings

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department spent on building maintenance in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: The following table shows expenditure on building maintenance by the Northern Ireland Office, excluding its agencies and executive NDPBs, in each of the last five years:
	
		
			   Building maintenance (£000) 
			 2004-05 2,727 
			 2005-06 2,234 
			 2006-07 2,600 
			 2007-08 1,792 
			 2008-09 2,760 
		
	
	Building maintenance includes work where the primary aim is routine repair and/or replacement of existing facilities.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has considered a timetable for the withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan; whether he has had recent discussions on the matter with other states involved in military operations; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: The UK's strategy for Afghanistan is long-term and based on a comprehensive approach to security, political, social and economic development.
	At the recent NATO summit in April 2009, allies reiterated their commitment to support Afghanistan in building security, both in the short-term during the crucial election period and in the long-term; when the focus of this support will shift further towards strengthening Afghan security forces to take responsibility themselves.
	We have always made clear that we would keep the commitment of UK forces under review.

Armed Forces Day

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans his Department has to mark Armed Forces Day on 27 June 2009 through national events; and if he will make a statement.

Kevan Jones: The aim of armed forces day is to honour Britain's armed forces, past, present and future and it is hoped that all former and currently serving members of the forces will fully embrace the concept of the day. The Historic Dockyard Chatham will host the inaugural armed forces day national event on Saturday 27 June 2009. The event will include a parade through Chatham Town Centre, a drumhead service, flypasts of military aircraft and a range of other activities in the Dockyard throughout the day.
	To enable communities across the UK to be involved in this inaugural year, we have also invited all local authorities to fly a flag for our armed forces. Over 460 of the 480 borough, city, district and county councils across the UK, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man that have been invited to participate in the fly the flag event have registered to take part, as have the Governors in Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands. The intention is that this ceremony will be repeated across the country at 1030 on Monday 22 June, synchronised with similar ceremonies where we have forces deployed overseas, and that the flags will be flown until after armed forces day itself.
	The MOD is also supporting over 80 community events across the country with major events in every region. A full list of events can be found at the armed forces day website at the following link:
	www.armedforcesday.org.uk

Armed Forces: Pensions

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he last met the chairman of each war pension committee.

Kevan Jones: holding answer 12 May 2009
	My predecessor, the former Under-Secretary of State for Defence and Minister for Veterans (Derek Twigg) attended the War Pensions Committee Chairmen's conference in September 2008.

Departmental Dismissal

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of staff in his Department and its agencies were dismissed  (a) for under-performance and  (b) in total in each of the last 10 years.

John Hutton: The following table provided details the numbers of staff who were dismissed from the Department in each calendar year since 2004.
	
		
			   Dismissals relating to under-performance  Total of all dismissals 
			 2004(1) 12 189 
			 2005 9 206 
			 2006 12 183 
			 2007 9 155 
			 2008 2 127 
			 2009(2) 1 56 
			 (1) Records for industrial employees were migrated onto the HR system in March 2004. Any dismissals involving industrial staff prior to this date are not included. (2) Numbers for 2009 are up to and including 30 April. 
		
	
	The figures exclude the MOD's trading fund agencies: ABRO, DARA, DSTL, Met Office and UK Hydrographic Office, as this information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Training

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department has spent on IT training for its staff in each of the last five years.

Huw Irranca-Davies: DEFRA provides a 'shared' IT Training service to a number of agencies and the spending of DEFRA will include the spending on IT Training by those agencies on a consolidated accounting basis.
	IT training for DEFRA can be separated into two distinct areas:
	1. Regular spending on IT training for staff. This includes such activities as maintaining hardware and training new staff members in the use of the DEFRA systems. The overall spending on IT during the years 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 is contained in the 'Resource Accounts'. The annual reports are available at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/finance/resource-accounts
	and are in the Library. Providing more specific information on regular IT spend in earlier years can be done only at disproportionate cost.
	2. Project spending on IT training for staff. IT projects that will require trained staff will include the cost of that training within their budgets. Information on the costs of training alone or on the costs of IT work between 2004-08 are available only at disproportionate cost.

Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  with reference to the answers to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 30 April 2008,  Official Report, column 467W, and to the hon. Member for Beckenham of 9 October 2008,  Official Report, column 754W, on waste management: domestic wastes, if he will publish an updated table of the local authorities which operate residual household waste collections with a frequency of less than once a week, including those operating or planning to operate pilot schemes with that frequency;
	(2)  which local authorities operate residual household waste collections with a frequency of less than once a week, including those operating or planning to operate pilot schemes with that frequency.

Jane Kennedy: The Waste and Resources Action programme has provided the following list of local authorities operating residual household waste collections with a frequency of less than once a week, including pilot schemes. This represents WRAP'S best understanding but the situation can change rapidly.
	 Local authority
	Alnwick District Council
	Amber Valley Borough Council
	Ashfield District Council
	Babergh District Council
	Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council
	Bassetlaw District Council
	Berwick-upon-Tweed Borough Council
	Blackpool Borough Council
	Blyth Valley Borough Council
	Boston Borough Council
	Bracknell Forest Borough Council
	Braintree District Council
	Breckland District Council
	Bridgnorth District Council
	Bristol City Council
	Broadland District Council
	Bromsgrove District Council
	Broxtowe Borough Council
	Burnley Borough Council
	Cambridge City Council
	Cannock Chase District Council
	Canterbury City Council
	Carlisle City Council
	Castle Morpeth Borough Council
	Charnwood Borough Council
	Cherwell District Council
	Chesterfield Borough Council
	Chichester District Council
	Chiltern District Council
	Chorley Borough Council
	Copeland Borough Council
	Corby Borough Council
	Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council
	Dacorum Borough Council
	Daventry District Council
	Derby City Council
	Derwentside District Council
	Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council
	East Hampshire District Council
	East Lindsey District Council
	Eastleigh Borough Council
	Ellesmere Port and Neston Borough Council
	Epping Forest District Council
	Erewash Borough Council
	Exeter City Council
	Fareham Borough Council
	Fenland District Council
	Forest Heath District Council
	Fylde Borough Council
	Gedling Borough Council
	Gosport Borough Council
	Great Yarmouth Borough Council
	Guildford Borough Council
	Hambleton District Council
	Harborough District Council
	Harrow London Borough Council
	Hart District Council
	Hartlepool Borough Council
	Hastings Borough Council
	Havant Borough Council
	Hertsmere Borough Council
	High Peak Borough Council
	Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council
	Huntingdonshire District Council
	Hyndburn Borough Council
	Ipswich Borough Council
	Kennet District Council
	Kettering Borough Council
	Kirklees Metropolitan Council
	Lancaster City Council
	Lichfield District Council
	Lincoln City Council
	London Borough of Bexley
	Macclesfield Borough Council
	Mansfield District Council
	Melton Borough Council
	Mendip District Council
	Mid Bedfordshire District Council
	Mid Devon District Council
	Mid Suffolk District Council
	Mid Sussex District Council
	Mole Valley District Council
	Newark and Sherwood District Council
	North Devon District Council
	North East Derbyshire District Council
	North Hertfordshire District Council
	North Kesteven District Council
	North Lincolnshire Council
	North Norfolk District Council
	North Shropshire District Council
	North West Leicestershire District Council
	Northampton Borough Council
	Norwich City Council
	Nottingham City Council
	Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council
	Oswestry Borough Council
	Oxford City Council
	Pendle Borough Council
	Peterborough City Council
	Preston City Council
	Purbeck District Council
	Reading Borough Council
	Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council
	Redditch Borough Council
	Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council
	Rochford District Council
	Rossendale Borough Council
	Rother District Council
	Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council
	Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
	Rushcliffe Borough Council
	Rushmoor Borough Council
	Ryedale District Council
	Scarborough Borough Council
	Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council
	Shepway District Council
	Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council
	South Bedfordshire District Council
	South Buckinghamshire District Council
	South Cambridgeshire District Council
	South Derbyshire District Council
	South Gloucestershire Council
	South Hams District Council
	South Kesteven District Council
	South Lakeland District Council
	South Norfolk District Council
	South Northamptonshire Council
	South Ribble Borough Council
	South Shropshire District Council
	South Somerset District Council
	South Staffordshire District Council
	Spelthorne Borough Council
	St. Edmundsbury Borough Council
	Stafford Borough Council
	Staffordshire Moorlands District Council
	Suffolk Coastal District Council
	Swale Borough Council
	Swindon Borough Council
	Tamworth Borough Council
	Taunton Deane Borough Council
	Teignbridge District Council
	Telford and Wrekin Borough Council
	Test Valley Borough Council
	Thanet District Council
	Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council
	Torbay Council
	Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
	Tynedale District Council
	Uttlesford District Council
	Vale Royal Borough Council
	Wakefield City Council
	Wansbeck District Council
	Warwick District Council
	Waveney District Council
	Waverley Borough Council
	Wealden District Council
	Wellingborough Borough Council
	West Lancashire District Council
	West Wiltshire District Council
	Weymouth and Portland Borough Council
	Winchester City Council
	Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council
	Woking Borough Council
	Worcester City Council
	Wycombe District Council
	Wyre Borough Council
	Wyre Forest District Council
	York City Council

Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the answer of 11 March 2008,  Official Report, column 222W, on domestic wastes: waste disposal, whether any projects involved helping local authorities with introducing or operating alternate weekly collections.

Jane Kennedy: DEFRA provided funding directly to authorities, through the local authority support unit (LASU), to:
	resource technical support for waste compositional analysis;
	develop their wastes strategies; and
	formulate their procurement and planning approach.
	We did not fund any option specifically to deliver any particular collection approach. However, authorities may have explored the options mentioned as part of those available. All LASU case studies are available on the Waste Information Network website.

Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 24 November 2008,  Official Report, column 841W, on domestic waste: waste disposal, whether  (a) the Waste Improvement Network and  (b) the Waste and Resources Action programme have made estimates of the average cost per household to local waste collection authorities of domestic waste collection with (i) a weekly and (ii) an alternate weekly frequency.

Jane Kennedy: Neither the Waste Improvement Network not the Waste and Resources Action programme (WRAP) have made any such estimates.

Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough of 17 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1007W, on domestic waste: waste disposal, which of the 10 councils awarded beacon status for best practice in waste collection have  (a) weekly and  (b) alternate weekly collections.

Jane Kennedy: Two of the bodies awarded beacon status for waste collection in 2007 are waste partnerships representing a total of 16 authorities. 14 of these have waste collection duties. Therefore, a total of 21 waste collection authorities received beacon status for waste collection. Of these, three now provide weekly collections and 18 provide alternate weekly collections.
	 Weekly collection
	East Cambridgeshire District Council
	Suffolk Coastal District Council
	London Borough of Sutton
	 Alternate weekly collection
	Babergh District Council
	London Borough of Bexley
	Cambridge City Council
	Daventry District Council
	East Hampshire District Council
	Fenland District Council
	Forest Heath District Council
	Huntingdonshire District Council
	Ipswich Borough Council
	Lichfield District Council
	Mid Suffolk District Council
	Peterborough City Council
	Preston City Council
	Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council
	Rushcliffe Borough Council
	South Cambridgeshire District Council
	St. Edmundsbury Borough Council
	Waveney District Council

Food Supply

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his most recent assessment is of progress in the delivery of the Government's commitment to the right to food as a fundamental human right.

Jane Kennedy: We are currently assessing the UK's contributions to the realisation of a right to food and will shortly be submitting a report to the UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur. The UK Government remains committed to working with international partners to enhance global food security in line with our millennium development goals (MDG), including MDG 1 on hunger, and to the progressive realisation of a right for all to have economic and physical access to safe and nutritious food—a commitment which was recently reaffirmed by G8 Agriculture Ministers in Treviso on 18-20 April.

Rabies

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures are in place to prevent the importation of rabies into the UK.

Jane Kennedy: Rabies-susceptible mammals are subject one of three sets of controls in place to prevent the importation of rabies: the Pet Travel scheme, quarantine or rules known as the Balai Directive which deals with the trade movement of certain animals and animal products.
	Pets entering the UK under the Pet Travel scheme must meet certain rules, including the need for a rabies vaccination and a blood test. They can only enter the UK on transport routes approved by the Animal Health Agency and all undergo a pre-entry identity and documentary check to ensure that they have met all of the rules of the scheme. If they meet these rules they do not need to enter quarantine on arrival.
	Animals subject to UK quarantine laws, for example pets from countries for which the Pet Travel scheme does not apply or zoo animals, must be issued with a rabies import licence issued by the Animal Health Agency before they can enter the UK. On arrival in the UK, these animals are immediately transported by an approved carrier to quarantine premises where they undergo six months quarantine. These animals are under the control of authorised quarantines or travelling agents at all times and are subject to regular veterinary inspections.
	Rabies-susceptible mammals entering the UK under the Balai Directive must meet very strict pre-entry requirements including stringent bio-security at the premises of origin. They will also require a pre-entry veterinary health inspection and be accompanied by a official veterinary export Health certificate.

Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what powers his Department plans to provide to local authorities under the provisions of the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008.

Jane Kennedy: DEFRA currently has no proposals to provide local authorities with additional powers under the provisions of the Regulatory and Enforcement (RES) Act 2008.

Reservoirs: Ringmer

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with Natural England on the potential effects on the environment of a reservoir at Ringmer, East Sussex; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Natural England has expressed concern at the potential for the reservoir to have adverse hydrological impacts on neighbouring site of special scientific interest (SSSI) woodland as well as impacts on the viability of the rare butterfly populations and bats which use the SSSI. Other protected species interests outside of the SSSI must also be considered (e.g. water voles in local watercourses). Natural England is working with South East Water through the statutory environment impact assessment process to ensure that these risks are properly understood.

Departmental Buildings

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Government House in Pimlico at 62 South Eaton Place became empty.

Phil Woolas: I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided on 18 February 2008,  Official Report, column 455W.

Deportation

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department seeks advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office with regard to the safety of specific countries in respect of deportation cases.

Phil Woolas: The UK Border Agency obtains information about specific countries from a wide range of publicly accessible sources including governmental, non-governmental, international organisations and reliable media sources. The UK Border Agency works closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to ensure that the picture obtained from these sources is an accurate one.
	Country plans/information, which are the Government's official assessment of the circumstances in specific countries, are public documents and can be found on the Home Office website.

Dual Nationality

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many citizens of the United Kingdom hold dual citizenship; and what the top 10 most common nations of dual citizenship are, ranked in descending order.

Phil Woolas: This information is not available. British citizenship can be acquired in a number of ways. For those who acquire that status automatically, by birth or descent, we do not have information about any other nationalities that they might also hold. For those who acquire British citizenship by registration or naturalisation, UKBA have records of the nationality that was held at the time of the application, but do not have figures as to how many retained another nationality on becoming British.

Emergency Calls: Speech Impaired

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans her Department has to enable people who are deaf, speech-impaired or otherwise unable to use voice telephony to opt to use a short message text service for 999 or 112 emergency calls.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 14 May 2009
	There are currently a number of regional schemes allowing the use of short message text access from mobile telephones for the hearing or speech impaired to the emergency services. Work to develop a national solution is being led the National 999 Liaison Committee which is chaired by Department of Communities and Local Government. The National Policing Improvement Agency, on behalf of the Police Service, participates in this work alongside the mobile telephony service providers, the other emergency services, British Telecom and the Royal National Institute for the Deaf. The group is currently scoping a trial to take place during 2009 to assess the most appropriate technical solution.

Entry Clearances: Agriculture

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many temporary visas were issued for migrant agricultural workers in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2007-08; and what estimate she has made of the number of such migrants who have overstayed their visas.

Phil Woolas: Work cards allocated to SAWS Operators by UKBA were:
	April 2006 to March 2007: 16,404
	April 2007 to March 2008: 16,732
	The figures quoted are not provided under National Statistics and have been derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.
	The scheme is restricted to Bulgarian and Romanian nationals only from 1 January 2008. Since 1 January 2007, Bulgarian and Romanian nationals have freedom of movement rights and are not required to leave the UK when their work card expires but must generally obtain further permission if they wish to recommence work.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 29 April 2009,  Official Report, column 1355W, on immigration controls: overseas students, whether students who pay for their accommodation, including bills, before attending the academic institution will be required to demonstrate they have the required monthly maintenance funds set under the new Tier 4 rules on immigration.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 11 May 2009
	 Where students have paid for accommodation in advance of applying for a visa, this amount will be deducted from the total amount of funds they will need to demonstrate in order to meet Tier 4 maintenance requirement. For accommodation, this only applies if the student is staying in university or college arranged accommodation. This information is set out in paragraph 96 of the Tier 4 policy guidance, which is available in the House of Commons Library and has also been published on the UK Border Agency website.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 23 April 2009,  Official Report, column 856, on immigration controls: educational institutions, what criteria the objective test includes; and how many times an academic institution is required to assess students according to this test during an academic year.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 11 May 2009
	 The points test, integral to all parts of the Points Based System, is the objective test used by the UK Border Agency to assess applications for leave to enter or remain. The specific criteria that must be met are detailed in the Immigration Rules, following changes contained in the Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules (HC 314) laid before the House on 9 March 2009, and which came into force on 31 March 2009.
	It is the responsibility of the education provider, as licensed sponsor, to assess their students' progress throughout the duration of their studies. The UK Border Agency does not define the method nor the frequency of such assessments throughout an academic year.

Foreign Workers: EU Nationals

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many nationals of the A8 states have completed a year on the Worker Registration Scheme and are entitled to full access to benefits.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 16 March 2009
	Data on the number of nationals of the A8 states that have completed 12 months continuous employment in the UK and have consequently ceased to be subject to the registration requirement is not available. The effect of the registration requirement is to restrict access to tax-funded, income related benefits subject to a habitual residence test, including income support and income-based jobseeker's allowance.

Identity Cards

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what timetable has been set for the distribution of identity card readers to  (a) police stations,  (b) border entry points,  (c) local authorities and  (d) job centres.

Phil Woolas: UKBA is continuing to increase the number of identity cards issued to foreign nationals granted further permission to stay in the country. In time, card readers will be made available so that the cardholder's biometric and biographical features can be checked against the card, although a timetable for their introduction has not been established. At present, cards may currently be verified using the card verification phone line and as the volume of cards in circulation increases other forms of verification will be introduced.
	Identity cards issued to British citizens under the Identity Cards Act 2006 will be valid for travel in Europe and so will have the capability for facial image biometrics to be read at border control in the same way as biometric passports. Any wider introduction of readers would be linked to the incremental rollout of the National Identity Service as detailed in the National Identity Service Delivery Update 2009 published on 6 May 2009.

Internet: Monitoring

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further plans her Department has to monitor internet use and telephone calls.

Vernon Coaker: There are no plans to amend the legal framework for interception in the UK.
	Separately the Government have launched a consultation, "Protecting the Public in a changing Communications Environment". This consultation relates to communications data (information about a communication but not its content) and is seeking the public's view on how to ensure that communications data continues to be retained in and made available lawfully, on a case by case basis, to public authorities.

Police: Complaints

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints have been made against the South Yorkshire police force in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: The Home Office does not hold the information requested. This is a matter primarily for the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) in fulfilling its statutory functions under the Police Reform Act 2002.The IPCC will respond to the hon. Member direct.

Police: Essex

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many officers of each rank in Essex Police have voluntarily ceased employment, excluding redundancy, since March 2008;
	(2)  how many officials of each grade have voluntarily ceased employed, other than through redundancy, in Essex Police Authority since June 2007.

Vernon Coaker: Data for the financial year 2008-09 are unavailable until headline figures are published in July.
	The available data for the financial year 2007-08 are given in the table.
	
		
			  Voluntary resignations and transfers (FTE) for Essex  p olice 2007-08 
			   Transfers  Voluntary resignations( 1) 
			 ACPO 0 0 
			 Chief Superintendent 1 0 
			 Superintendent 1 0 
			 Chief Inspector 0 0 
			 Inspector 0 2 
			 Sergeant 18 10 
			 Constable 76 61 
			 CSO 0 41 
			 Special Constable 1 63 
			 Police Staff 0 156 
			 Traffic Warden 0 0 
			 Designated officers (s38) 0 5 
			 (1) Including probationers  Note: Full time equivalent figures provided that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items.  Source: Data validated with Essex Police Force

Repatriation: Finance

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what expenditure her Department has incurred on the provision of financial incentives to foreign national prisoners to serve the remainder of their sentence in their country of origin  (a) since the inception of the scheme and  (b) in 2008-09;
	(2)  how much on average foreign national prisoners received in reintegration support in 2008;
	(3)  what expenditure her Department has incurred on reintegration support in each of the last three years;
	(4)  how many prisoners at each prison have been offered financial incentives to serve the remainder of their sentence in their country of origin since the inception of that incentive scheme;
	(5)  how many prisoners have received reintegration support more than once in the last five years;
	(6)  how many foreign national prisoners have been repatriated to their country of origin under the reintegration scheme since the scheme's inception.

Phil Woolas: The facilitated returns scheme was launched in October 2006 as an incentive to persuade foreign prisoners to return voluntarily to their own country. The scheme offers a package of reintegration assistance to the individual, however no financial incentives are offered. The only cash the individual receives is the standard £46 discharge grant provided to all prisoners, including British nationals. The level of assistance offered is variable and is dependant upon the individual circumstances of each case. Around half of those who are removed under the provisions of the scheme receive reintegration assistance. There has been only one instance where an individual who has been transferred to a prison within the country of origin and has been provided reintegration assistance.
	Details of the scheme are available in all UK prisons where foreign national prisoners are serving their sentence. Although they are also verbally advised of the scheme, it is not possible to provide data on the numbers of individuals who have been offered the scheme. It remains open to them to make such an application. Once removed from the UK under the scheme's provisions, they are excluded from re-entering the UK. As such it is only possible to benefit from the scheme once.
	The chief executive of the UK Border Agency has written to the Home Affairs Select Committee on a regular basis in order to provide all of the most robust and accurate information on foreign national prisoners and deportation, including the successes seen through the use of the facilitated returns scheme.
	In her letter of 23 July 2008 she advised that the scheme, which has generated significant savings and accounted for around 25 per cent. of all foreign prisoner removals in 2007, has resulted in nearly 1,800 foreign prisoners being removed from the UK. In the first year of the scheme (October 2006 to October 2007) the agency spent around £350,000, inclusive of administrative costs. For the same period around 880 removals were made under the scheme which generated considerable savings in detention costs alone.
	Copies of her letters are available in the Library of the House. The chief executive will continue to write to the Committee with further updates on the scheme and other data on the deportation of foreign national prisoners.

Terrorism

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what  (a) statutory instruments,  (b) departmental circulars,  (c) consultation documents and  (d) other documents she (i) has issued since February 2008 and (ii) plans to issue in the next two years consequent on the provisions of counter-terrorism legislation passed since 1984; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: Since February 2008 the following statutory instruments have been made by the Home Office in relation to the Terrorism Act 2000, the Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001, the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005, the Terrorism Act 2006 and the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008:
	The Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) Order 2008, made on 23 June 2008.
	The Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2008, made on 17 July 2008.
	The Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Name Change) Order 2009, made 5 March 2009.
	The Terrorism Act 2006 (Pre-charge Detention) (Renewal) Order 2008 made on 24 July 2008.
	The Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 (Commencement No. 1) Order 2008, made 23 December 2008.
	The Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 (Commencement No. 2) Order 2009, made 19 January 2009.
	The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 (Continuance in force of sections 1 to 9) Order 2008, made 3 March 2008.
	The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 (Continuance in force of sections 1 to 9) Order 2009, made 5 March 2009.
	The Terrorism Act 2000 (Code of Practice for Examining Officers) (Revision) Order 2009, made 26 February 2009.
	The Home Office plans for future statutory instruments are published quarterly at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/secondary-legislation-list
	The only departmental circular published by the Home Office since February 2008 in relation to the above legislation was Home Office Circular 027/2008 which was issued on 2 December 2008 and deals with the authorisation process under the stop and search powers at section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000. It is intended that there will be Home Office circulars issued in relation to the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 during the course of 2009.
	A formal 12 week consultation was carried out in the summer of 2007 on schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000 (Code of Practice for Examining Officers). The consultation was published on the Home Office website on 4 June 2007. The Home Office will consult on changes to the various PACE codes arising from the provisions in the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 in due course. It is also intended that there will be a consultation on amending the list of pathogens and toxins contained in schedule 5 of the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 in the next two years.
	Information relating to 'other documents' can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Carers

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions he has had with Ministerial colleagues on implementation of the National Carers Strategy 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: To support the implementation of National Carers Strategy objectives, Ministers from all the signatory Departments have maintained close working relationships. To support this an inter-ministerial meeting is planned for early June.

Departmental Correspondence

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what procedure his Department follows for dealing with complaints received  (a) by e-mail,  (b) by post,  (c) by telephone and  (d) via his Department's website.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department for Work and Pensions and its agencies deal with all complaints on an equal basis, however they are made. How they are dealt with will depend on whether the complaint is about a decision on entitlement, for which there is generally a right of appeal, or it is about the manner in which the service is delivered.
	For example, customers who are dissatisfied with any statutory decision made by Jobcentre Plus can appeal. In the first instance, the decision is reviewed by another decision-maker. If the decision remains unchanged after the review, Jobcentre Plus sends the case to the Tribunals Service as part of the appeal process. The Tribunals Service are responsible for administering the appeals process and contact customers about the hearing, which may be held in person or by correspondence.
	Jobcentre Plus treats decisions complained about in correspondence as an appeal and automatically reconsiders the decision. Where appropriate, Jobcentre Plus contacts the customer for further information to support the appeal process.
	Most complaints about the service provided can be resolved straightaway by the person dealing with the customer and each of the Department's agencies seeks to achieve this. Each has a clear and simple process for dealing with customer complaints and details of this are contained in their leaflets.
	Where failings are identified we provide appropriate redress, which might typically include an apology, correction of any error and, where appropriate, financial redress.
	Where a customer is not satisfied with the response given to their complaint they can ask for a review of the complaint and any redress given. This will first be by a senior manager and, if the customer remains dissatisfied, by the chief executive of the agency concerned.
	If the customer remains dissatisfied, he or she can ask the independent case examiner (ICE) to review matters. A request for ICE to investigate should be made within six months of the chief executive's response.
	The ICE will consider complaints about service delivery, though not matters of law or Government policy. He will review the papers and attempt to mediate. If this is not possible he will report his findings and inform the customer of their right to ask a MP to refer the matter to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.

Departmental Internet

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has spent on maintaining its website in the last 12 months.

Jonathan R Shaw: Maintenance of DWP websites including
	www.dwp.gov.uk
	is mostly carried out by the Department's own in-house digital media team. It is not possible for us to quantify internal staff costs because, in most cases, staff are engaged in more than one role. In addition, we are unable to establish accurately our infrastructure costs because they form part of a wider departmental IT contract.
	DWP have worked with the COI to develop a standardised method for quantifying website costs across Government. This will be implemented from March 2009.

Pension Credit

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people of working age have been claiming pension credit  (a) in each month of the last two years and  (b) in each year since pension credit was introduced.

Rosie Winterton: The Government are committed to tackling age discrimination and working through the Age Positive Initiative to continue to encourage employers to adopt flexible approaches to work and employment that will allow more choices and opportunity for older people to remain in, or re-enter the labour market.
	From April 2009, financial incentives of up to £2,500 will be available to employers that recruit and train people who have been unemployed for six months or longer.
	The qualifying age for pension credit is linked to the state pension age for women, which means that men aged 60 to 64 can claim pension credit without having reached their state pension age. The state pension age for women, and therefore the qualifying age for pension credit, is due to increase gradually from 60 to 65 between 2010 and 2020. The information requested is in the tables. The new claims data in tables 1 and 2 does not capture those claims where the partner is below state pension age, it counts only those claims where the claimant is below state pension age.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of new pension credit claims from men aged 60 to 64 in each month September 2006 to August 2008 
			   Number of claims 
			  2006  
			 September 5,210 
			 October 5,290 
			 November 5,360 
			 December 4,410 
			   
			  2007  
			 January 5,610 
			 February 4,910 
			 March 5,460 
			 April 5,200 
			 May 5,440 
			 June 5,450 
			 July 5,500 
			 August 5,420 
			 September 4,920 
			 October 5,460 
			 November 5,240 
			 December 3,890 
			   
			  2008  
			 January 5,590 
			 February 5,170 
			 March 4,960 
			 April 5,480 
			 May 5,050 
			 June 5,320 
			 July 6,060 
			 August 5,390 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of new pension credit claims from men aged 60 to 64 each year 2003 - 08 
			   Number of claims 
			 2003 198,450 
			 2004 66,410 
			 2005 56,550 
			 2006 60,030 
			 2007 62,500 
			 2008 (January to August) 43,020 
			  Notes: 1. The on flow data used represents the total number of spells on this benefit that commenced within the month/year listed. It does not include flows where people have moved out of one area into another while remaining on the benefit. 2. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. 3. Pension credit was introduced on 6 October 2003. 4. Totals may not sum due to rounding.  Source: DWP Information Directorate Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study

Afghanistan: Females

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress his Department has made in implementing the provisions of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in UK and international development programmes in Afghanistan in the last 12 months.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) has made the following provisions to implement the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in its development programmes in Afghanistan:
	Drawing on the findings of the research DFID commissioned at the end of last year, titled 'Understanding Afghanistan', we have developed a detailed Gender Equality Action plan for Afghanistan. This plan supports the 10-year National Action Plan for Women in Afghanistan (NAPWA) by ensuring gender equality is an integral part of our programme.
	The UK Government are working closely with the Afghan Government to ensure that gender equality is integrated into its own policies to ensure long-term, sustainable improvements. We have provided an adviser to the Afghanistan Government to ensure the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS), which lays out its development plan over the next five years, has integrated cross-cutting issues such as gender equality into sector plans. DFID also provides funding to Womankind and UNIFEM who are both working to support women's rights in Afghanistan.
	In addition, DFID has committed almost £11 million (2008-09) to support elections in Afghanistan. At present women hold 68 out of 249 seats in the Lower House and 23 out of 102 seats in the Upper House. Our funding will raise awareness and understanding of the electoral process and empower women's political participation.

Sudan: Politics and Government

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his most recent assessment is of the humanitarian situation in South Kordofan and Abeyi in Sudan.

Ivan Lewis: The UK Government continue to monitor the humanitarian situation in Abyei and Southern Kordofan closely. The population of Abyei (and surrounding areas) is fewer than 50,000, most living in displaced camps in Agok, with 650 in Southern Kordofan. United Nations (UN) sources indicate that the humanitarian system is stable, although the situation remains tense, with the coming rains posing an increased risk of disease and logistical challenges in the delivery of assistance. We are also expecting the results of a recent joint UN/Government assessment of the NGO expulsions impact on the transitional areas, which should provide a more comprehensive picture of any gaps in the humanitarian response and impact on future recovery programmes.
	The UK Government provide humanitarian and early recovery support primarily through the UN-managed Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF), which contributed $10.1 million for Southern Kordofan, and an additional $3.3 million for Abyei in 2008. Our 2008 share of the CHF was around 50 per cent. at £40 million. For 2009, we have provided a further £36 million. In addition, the UK Government are supporting recovery in the police (Abyei) and education sectors (up to £5.7 million), and through the Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) which has provided $28.67 million in funding for Southern Kordofan.

Zimbabwe: Economic Situation

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with officials from the African Development Bank on a financial rescue package for Zimbabwe; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: Ministers from the Department for International Development (DFID) have met with Donald Kaberuka, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), on a number of occasions over recent months. Most recently the Secretary of State met him on 2 April 2009 at the G20 summit in London. DFID staff have also held regular meetings at senior level with African Development Bank (AfDB) officials, including most recently at the AfDB annual meetings in Senegal on May 13-14.
	In all of these meetings we have emphasised the importance of a strong AfDB role and country presence to provide early technical support to key institutions in the new Inclusive Government, to help co-ordinate donor engagement and, generally, to help build and maintain momentum for much needed reform efforts in Zimbabwe. However, further major support from the AfDB, from other institutions such as the IMF and World Bank and from the wider donor community will only be made available when we begin to see evidence of a commitment to political and economic reform. Establishing a track record on strong and competent fiscal management and tackling debt arrears will be key issues for the Inclusive Government in building confidence with the international community to support recovery.

Council Tax: Non-payment

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many successful prosecutions there were in  (a) Essex and  (b) Castle Point for non-payment of council tax in each of the last five years.

Maria Eagle: Persons proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for offences under Section 56 of the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 form part of a miscellaneous group on the Ministry of Justice Court proceedings database which cannot be separately identified.

Debt Collection

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many court orders were obtained by each local authority in England in 2007-08; and how many of these related to  (a) council tax,  (b) housing benefit and  (c) parking penalties;
	(2)  how many warrants to authorise bailiff action were issued at the request of each local authority in England in 2007-08;
	(3)  what the  (a) actual and  (b) percentage change in the number of (i) court orders and (ii) warrants to authorise bailiff action secured by each local authority (A) relating to council tax, (B) relating to housing benefit, (C) relating to parking penalties and (D) overall in England was between (1) 1997-98 and 2002-03 and (2) 1997-98 and 2007-08;
	(4)  how many bailiff warrants were issued in each region in respect of  (a) council tax,  (b) magistrates' court fines,  (c) consumer credit debts,  (d) parking penalties and congestion charges,  (e) child support and maintenance,  (f) television licences and  (g) other matters in (i) 1997-98, (ii) 2002-03 and (iii) 2007-08;
	(5)  how many mortgage and landlord repossession orders were granted by each county court in  (a) 1990,  (b) 2000 and  (c) 2007-08.

Bridget Prentice: Statistics on mortgage repossession orders granted by each county court from 1987 to 2008 and on landlord repossession orders granted by each county court from 1999 to 2008 are available via the Ministry of Justice website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/stats-landlord-mortgage-historic-20-02-09.xls
	However, landlord repossession order data are not held prior to 1999.
	These figures do not indicate how many homes have actually been repossessed. Repossessions can occur without a court order being made while not all court orders result in repossession.
	The Ministry of Justice does not hold statistical counts of:
	court orders obtained by local authorities;
	warrants to authorise bailiff action issued at the request of local authorities;
	warrants to authorise bailiff action issued in respect of (a) council tax, (b) magistrates' court fines, (c) consumer credit debts, (d) parking penalties and congestion charges, (e) child support and maintenance, (f) television licences and (g) other matters.
	The administrative computer systems used in the county courts do not enable easy identification of whether cases are brought specifically by local authorities, of the specific case type listed. All relevant cases are logged on the system and the claimant name is recorded. However, the statistics requested could only be derived following extensive manual searching of individual case records, which would incur disproportionate cost.
	In addition, the numbers of orders made in magistrates courts are not held centrally.

Members: Correspondence

Jeremy Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when the Minister of State for Youth Justice plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Rugby and Kenilworth of 18 March 2009, on Clifton Court Nursing Home.

David Hanson: I am sorry for the delay. A reply has been sent and the hon. Member should receive it shortly.

Youth Justice

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what timetable he has set for the publication of the strategy on the health and social care needs of children and younger people across the youth justice pathway, referred to in his Department's response to Lord Bradley's report.

Phil Hope: I have been asked to reply.
	A strategy to meet the health and social care needs of children and young people across the youth justice pathway is being developed following the launch of 'Lord Bradley's review of people with mental health problems or learning disabilities in the criminal justice system'. The strategy for children and young people is expected to be published in the autumn 2009 following approval from the forthcoming Health and Criminal Justice Programme Board.

India: Elections

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the probable outcome of the general election in India; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The Indian election result was announced on 16 May 2009. It was expected that no one party would have a sufficient majority to form the new Indian Government. The relevant political parties will now consult to form the next coalition. The UK.enjoys constructive relations with India and we look forward to working with the new Indian Government.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations  (a) he and  (b) officials in his Department have made to the Palestinian Authority on Israeli soldier Corporal Shalit.

Bill Rammell: The UK continues to call for the immediate, unconditional, and safe release of Gilad Shalit, in public and in private. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary reiterated this most recently in his statement to the UN Security Council on 11 May 2009. We have also shown our support to Corporal Shalit's family by meeting his parents on several occasions.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department has taken steps since 25 June 2006 to seek to secure the release of Israeli soldier Corporal Shalit.

Bill Rammell: The UK continues to call for the immediate, unconditional, and safe release of Gilad Shalit, in public and in private. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary reiterated this most recently in his statement to the UN Security Council on 11 May 2009. We have also shown our support to Corporal Shalit's family by meeting his parents on several occasions.

Students: Finance

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many and what proportion of students studying for a higher education qualification in a further education college in 2007-08 were  (a) directly funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England,  (b) funded via a university and  (c) funded by the Learning and Skills Council; and what proportion of the total number of higher education students in England in that year each represents.

David Lammy: The latest available information is given in the table.
	
		
			  Higher education enrolments by source of funding: English Further education colleges( 1)  academic years 2005/06( 2)  and 2007/08( 3) 
			   Number  Proportion (percentage)  Proportion of all higher education  enrolments( 4)( ) (percentage) 
			 Total higher education enrolments at further education colleges(5) 172,160 100.0 8.4 
			  Of which:
			 Directly funded by HEFCE(6) 52,775 30.7 2.6 
			 Funded via a University(2,7) 50,015 29.1 2.4 
			 Funded by LSC 47,140 27.4 2.3 
			 (1) The figures have not been adjusted for colleges that transferred during this period from the FE to the HE sector, or for those which merged with HE institutions. (2) Funded via a university figures come from the 2005/06 HESA record and were provided by HEFCE analysts. 2006/07 and 2007/08 HESA data are available but the equivalent analysis has not yet been performed by HEFCE. Therefore proportions given in the table for students funded via a university are estimates based on earlier data, and may not reflect 2007/08 actual proportions. (3) 2007/08 data is provisional. The final 2007/08 data will be available in January 2010. (4) All Higher Education enrolments cover Higher Education enrolments at Further Education Colleges plus Higher Education enrolments at Higher Education Institutions. The underlying Higher Education Institution data comes from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student record and is on a DIUS whole year count basis. Includes students registered by an English HE institution that are taught at any UK FE college (not just English FE colleges). (5) Includes students with other sources of funding, therefore the sum of HEFCE funded, funded via a university and LSC funded will not sum to the number of all enrolments; likewise the proportions will not sum to 100 per cent. (6) Includes students funded via a HEFCE-recognised funding consortium led by an HE institution. (7) Includes students registered at any English HE institution, this includes HE colleges as well as universities.  Notes: 1. ILR figures are on a DIUS whole year count basis, which counts students enrolled at any point in the academic year. 2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest five and proportions have been rounded to one decimal place.  Source: Learning and Skills Council (LSC) Individualised Learner Record (ILR) apart from funded via a University figures which are from the 2005/06 Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student record.

Building Schools for the Future Programme

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what rate of interest is being charged by the Government on the £2.4 billion set aside as the additional HM Treasury contribution to private finance initiative schemes in the Building Schools for the Future programme.

Jim Knight: holding answer 18 May 2009
	The rate of interest to be charged by the Treasury's Infrastructure Finance Unit (TIFU) to assist Building Schools for the Future PFI projects is not set in advance. It will lend on a commercial basis and rates applicable in the market at the time of financial close of a project.
	The £2.4 billion relates to the value of BSF PFI projects in procurement at the time of the announcement according to figures provided to HMT as part of the pre-Budget PFI data collection exercise.
	Not every project is expected to require assistance, only those projects which cannot secure debt finance on acceptable terms.

Secondary Education

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils entered state secondary schools in each local authority in year 7 in September 2008; how many and what percentage of these pupils entered schools selecting other than via banding systems  (a) wholly by academic ability,  (b) partly by academic ability and  (c) by aptitude; and how many of them transferred to state secondary schools from primary schools in the private sector.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department does not hold data on the number of pupils which entered state secondary schools in September 2008. The latest available data about the number of admissions to schools can be accessed in the statistical first release (SFR) "Admission Appeals for Maintained Primary and Secondary Schools in England, 2006/07"
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgatewav/DB/SFR/s000789/index.shtml (table 3).
	Data for 2007/08 is due to be published in late June.
	The Department also collects data about offers of secondary school places. The data on offers made in March 2008 (which will relate to the number of pupils which entered state secondary schools in September 2008) can be accessed in the SFR "Secondary School Applications and Offers!
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STA/t000791/index.shtml.
	These figures are likely to have changed slightly by September for a number of reasons, such as appeals being successful, children moving home and late applications being processed. However, local authorities are not required to submit updated data in September.
	The Department does not collect data on the admission arrangements applied to determine which school places are offered, or on the number of children that have transferred to state secondary schools from primary schools in the independent sector.

Young Offender Institutions: ICT

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families on how many and what proportion of computers in  (a) young offender institutions and  (b) secure training centres malware was detected in 2008.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 14 May 2009
	The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is responsible for overseeing the management of services in young offender institutions. The Youth Justice Board (YJB) is responsible for monitoring the services provided by contractors in secure training centres.
	Neither NOMS nor the YJB have received any reports of maiware being detected in young offender institutions or secure training centres in 2008.

Departmental Buildings

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much her Department and its predecessors spent on building maintenance in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

John Healey: The Department for Communities and Local Government and its predecessors incurred the following expenditure on building maintenance across the headquarters estate during the last five financial years:
	
		
			  Financial year  Cost (£) 
			 2004-05 1,493,230 
			 2005-06 2,075,079 
			 2006-07 1,646,722 
			 2007-08 1,564,742 
			 2008-09 1,713,495 
		
	
	The Department and its predecessors had not maintained records of its agencies' and arms length bodies' maintenance spend. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Pay

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies paid in end-of-year performance bonuses to (i) all staff and (ii) senior Civil Service staff in 2008-09; and how many such payments were made.

John Healey: The Communities and Local Government total pay bill was £93,582,821, of which 0.63 per cent. was used for non-consolidated performance payments to staff. For the 2008-09 financial year non-consolidated performance payments of £428,157 were made to staff and £856,392 to senior civil servants.
	All non-consolidated payments above are funded within existing pay bill controls, have to be re-earned each year against pre-determined targets and, as such, do not add to future pay bill costs.
	The non-consolidated performance pay pot made to senior civil servants is based on the recommendations by the independent senior salaries review body. The Government has responded to current economic conditions by freezing the size of the SCS non-consolidated pot.
	Communities and Local Government do not hold information centrally on non-consolidated payments made to staff within its agencies.

Energy Performance Certificates

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 5 May 2009,  Official Report, column 128W, on energy performance certificates, how many complaints have been received from prospective tenants of  (a) social and  (b) private accommodation about a landlord failing to provide an energy performance certificate in each month since the entry into force of the provisions of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.

Margaret Beckett: Enforcement of the Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) England and Wales) Regulations 2007 is the responsibility of local weights and measures authorities. There is no requirement for the Department to be in formed when they receive a complaint.

Energy Performance Certificates

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 5 May 2009,  Official Report, column 128W, on energy performance certificates, how many fixed penalties for failure to supply an energy performance certificate have been issued to landlords in the  (a) private and  (b) social sector.

Margaret Beckett: Penalty notices are issued by local weights and measures authorities who are empowered to enforce the Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) England and Wales) Regulations 2007. There is no requirement for the Department to be informed when a penalty charge notice is issued.

Home Information Packs

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many accredited providers of there were in each of the last three years.

Margaret Beckett: There are no accreditation schemes for providers of home information packs.

Housing: Construction

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes have been built on surplus public sector land in each of the last five years; and what estimate has been made of the number which will be built on such land in each of the next three years.

Margaret Beckett: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Mr. Wright) on 23 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 69-70W. However to clarify, the purpose of the Register of Surplus Public Sector Land is to record sites for disposal that have been identified as surplus, vacant or under-used by Government Departments and their agencies which can be used for redevelopment including housing.
	Information on the number of homes built on public sector land since 2004 is not held centrally as the Register does not capture such details. However, the Homes and Communities Agency estimates that since 2004 some 19,000 homes may have been built on sites formerly owned by the public sector. The cost of providing a more accurate figure would be disproportionate. This estimate will include a proportion of the 59,505 homes built since 1997, referred to in the previous answer of 23 March 2009. I should remind the hon. Member that these figures are likely to under-represent the number of homes built on land formerly owned by Government bodies.
	Our latest estimate, as at January 2009, is that about 51,000 homes could be built on public sector sites in the next three years. This will be subject to sites remaining surplus or underused and planning approval being obtained. This forecast is under review and may reduce in the future to reflect the challenging market conditions.

Housing: Low Incomes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average level of support has been under each of the HomeBuy schemes in each region.

Margaret Beckett: For 2008-09 provisional figures showing the average amount of grant per unit paid through the Homes and Communities Agency's Affordable Housing Programme for each of the HomeBuy schemes in each region is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Average level of grant per completed unit 
			  £ 
			  English region  New build HomeBuy  Open market HomeBuy  Social HomeBuy  Rent to Home B uy 
			 North East 21,590 22,610 9,000 38,810 
			 North West 26,400 23,670 8,900 44,930 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 29,520 24,420 9,000 38,320 
			 East Midlands 15,650 24,680 — 22,220 
			 West Midlands 20,810 23,760 7,580 21,160 
			 Eastern 18,240 31,930 13,500 38,770 
			 London 42,650 48,490 12,160 56,320 
			 South East 20,740 32,420 11,650 29,200 
			 South West 14,420 28,620 — 33,690 
			 England 23,340 28,960 7,980 35,940 
			  Source: Homes and Communities Agency's Investment Management System 
		
	
	Provisional figures indicate that there have been no homes completed under the HomeBuy Direct scheme in 2008-09.

Shelter: Eco-Towns

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Mid Worcestershire of 25 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1284W, on , if she will place in the Library  (a) a copy of the agreement between Shelter and her Department to produce the literature on eco-towns and  (b) the proposal from Shelter received by her Department.

Margaret Beckett: I have placed in the Library a copy of the formal bid for funding that Shelter submitted in July 2008, together with a copy of the updated funding agreement made between Shelter and my Department. This agreement covers the period 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2010 and relates to the production of publications to provide factual information to local people about the housing situation in and around potential eco-town locations.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire dated 9 February 2009, on mortgages and interest rates, PO reference: 1/67151/2009.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 15 May 2009
	 A reply has been sent to the hon. Member.

Tax Havens: Crown Dependencies

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assistance the Government offered to each of the Crown Dependencies to facilitate  (a) the completion of tax information exchange agreements and  (b) inclusion in the OECD list of jurisdictions that had substantially implemented the internationally-agreed tax standard before the G20 Meeting in April 2009.

Stephen Timms: The negotiation of tax information exchange agreements with other jurisdictions, including the UK, is essentially a matter for the Crown Dependences themselves. Such agreements are negotiated under entrustments granted by the UK. The UK offers assistance where appropriate and encourages dialogue between the Crown Dependences and other countries.
	Inclusion in the OECD list of jurisdictions that have substantially implemented the internationally agreed tax standard is based on assessments carried out by the OECD.

Osteoglophonic Dysplasia

David Clelland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what medical research his Department has commissioned recently on methods to increase detection rates of development dysplasia of the hip in the first 12 weeks of a baby's life;
	(2)  how many children under the age of 10 years were diagnosed with development dysplasia of the hip in each of the last three years;
	(3)  what the cost to the NHS is of treating children under the age of 12 years with late-diagnosed development dysplasia of the hip.

Ann Keen: The number of children under the age of 10 years who are diagnosed with developmental dysplasia of the hip is not collected centrally.
	Data relating to the specific cost to the national health service of treating children under the age of 12 years with late-diagnosed development dysplasia of the hip is not collected centrally.
	The Department is not currently funding research into dysplasia of the hip in newborn children. However, there has been an Ultrasonography in the diagnosis and management of developmental hip dysplasia trial (UK Hip Trial) conducted at 33 hospitals in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland by researchers from Oxford and London Universities. This found no significant benefits in costs from screening with ultrasound rather than the Barlow and Ortolani tests used currently.
	The Medical Research Council, one of the main agencies through which the Government support medical and clinical research, although not currently funding any research directly relating to developmental dysplasia of the hip, is funding the UK resource of new models of bone and mineral disorders, a £1.86 million research project, which may lead to further understanding of the condition.